Andhra Pradesh bypolls not a referendum: Cong

New Delhi: Faced with a tough situation in the Andhra Pradesh by-elections, Congress on Friday made it clear that it does not see the bypolls as a "referendum".

"This is no referendum. These are by-elections and not general election.... We give them due importance a by election deserves," party spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary told reporters here.

She was replying to questions on whether the Congress believes that the results in Andhra Pradesh by-elections will be a reflection of YSR Congress chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy`s support base vis a vis Congress.
The party spokesperson at the same time said "we are not losing anything. How many seats Congress is going to win and how many seats Jagan is going to lose is the situation there."

Jaganmohan`s party is contesting the bye-polls on June 12 in the absence of its leader, who is under judicial custody in a corruption case by CBI.

18 assembly segments and one Lok Sabha seat go to polls in the bye-election in the state on June 12.
The bypolls to 16 assembly constituencies are necessitated due to the disqualification of sitting Congress MLAs who switched loyalty to Jagan and voted against the Congress government during a floor test in December last.

The by-elections, seen as precursor to the 2014 general elections, will be held in the non-Telangana areas of coastal and Rayalseema regions and will be a crucial test for the fledgling YSR Congress, floated by Jagan months after his father YSR Reddy`s death in a helicopter crash in 2009, and the Congress.